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Chelsea 'preparing' £69m bid for La Liga ace ahead of the transfer deadline

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Liam Rosenior | Getty Images

Chelsea have until the deadline at 7pm on Monday evening to bring in some new faces to bolster their squad

Chelsea won 3-2 at home against West Ham on Saturday evening. They fought back from 2-0 down to beat the Hammers. Joao Pedro, Marc Cucurella and Enzo Fernandez got their goals at Stamford Bridge.

Liam Rosenior has made a positive impression since his move earlier this winter. He left Ligue 1 side Strasbourg to take over the London outfit. The 41-year-old has also managed Derby County and Hull City in the past in the Football League.

Chelsea target Atletico Madrid midfielder Pablo Barrios

Barrios, 22, rose up through the academy at Real Madrid before he switched to their rivals in 2017. He has since gone on to make 135 appearances in all competitions, 30 of which have come this season, and he has scored seven goals. However, Diego Simeone could face a battle to keep hold of him amid attention from elsewhere.

Chelsea could see Barrios as someone to boost their midfield department. If he joined, he would provide Rosenior with more competition and depth in the middle of the park. In addition, he could battle it out with the likes of Fernandez and Moises Caicedo for a place in their starting XI.

Will Chelsea snap up Pablo Barrios from Atletico Madrid?

Chelsea need to fork out big money for Barrios which is tricky in January. It would be a surprise to see him move to England before the end of the January transfer window on Monday at 7pm. It seems more likely that a transfer would be on the cards in the summer.

The Blues will be pleased with how well Rosenior has settled into life as their head coach. Eyebrows were raised after his appointment. He has started well though and his team are carrying momentum at this moment in time.

Speaking after their dramatic victory over West Ham, Rosenior said: "I hope in time they'll say it [hiring him] was the best decision this club's ever made. But I can't focus on that. This is a really proud club with incredible tradition and recent history of winning trophies.

"They want that and I want that too. For a manager to come in midway through a season with not many sessions and have six wins out of seven games, it's not a bad way to start. As long as the team showed a fight and the energy and the intensity that they did in that second half, the fans showed that they'll be with us and they'll support us."

Chelsea are back in action on Tuesday with the second leg of their Carabao Cup clash against Arsenal. They lost the first leg 3-2 at home. Nevertheless, they will head to the Emirates Stadium in confident mood amid their eye-catching form of late under Rosenior’s guidance and will fancy their chances of a result.

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